Dress a Swatch for machine knitting

Dress a Swatch

As we machine knit, the knitting is stretched across the needlebed and we add weights. Dressing a swatch will give you a much more accurate gauge measurement and it will also account for any changes when you steam and/or wash your knitting.

Dressing a swatch refers to the process of establishing the final condition of the knitting after resting, steaming and/or washing.
Knitting straight off the machine is not representative of how the knitting is going to feel, look, drape or measure in the finished garment. Dressing a swatch:
  1. Remove the knitting from the machine
  2. Tube the knitting (roll it lengthwise and pull to "pop" the stitches)
  3. Let it rest (at least overnight)
  4. Wash and/or steam the swatch as you are going to treat the final garment
  5. Measure and calculate your gauge
Once you've dressed the swatch you will know if the yarn shrinks, stretches, fades or biases. You'll be able to confidently knit your garment without any surprises.

Classroom:
Swatching is NOT Optional